Sacrifice Tower
by original-jade
Summary: Another day, another challenge. That's just how it is for veteran Pokedex holders. New facilities open and want the dexholders to come right away. This so called 'Sacrifice Tower' wasn't supposed to be different-but it was. Now, Red, Gold, and Silver are plucked from the familiar world of Pokemon and dropped into the strange world of demons. [Rated based on violence and language]
1. Journey

Red stood next to Green and Blue waiting for Yellow to arrive. The four had received an invitation to challenge something called "Sacrifice Tower" which no one had even heard of before. They were going to take a ferry to the island where the Tower was. Pika's ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps. Sure enough, there was Yellow with Chuchu trailing behind. They looked a little depressed, though.

"Yellow, what's wrong?" Green was the first one to speak up.

"Eh? It's nothing, really, just…" Her words trailed off as she pointed at the road she had come from. Green turned to see Gold, Silver, and Crystal headed toward the dock where the others stood. "I ran into them as I was leaving Viridian. Gold somehow convinces me to let them come." Yellow pulled her hat over her face to hide the embarrassment which shouldn't have been there in the first place.

"It sounded fun! Besides, I'm not going to ignore something like this." Gold put his hands behind his head as he spoke. "Enough about that, when do we get to go?"

Just as Green was about to point out that only the Kanto dexholders were invited, a man stepped off of a waiting ferry. "Are you the trainers bound for Sacrifice Tower?"

"Yeah, that's us." Red stepped toward the man and held out his hand. The man took it as he continued.

"May I see the invitation?" Green walked up and pulled it out of his pocket. There was only one invitation and since it was sent to Professor Oak, he was the first to hear about it. The man looked it over and nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can only take the four that were invited. The rest of you will have to stay here."

"Wait a minute! They have every right to come as we do!" Blue immediately came to the defense of the Johto dexholders. Crystal joined in as she tried to find something in her bag.

"If anything, we have the same qualifications. Ah, here it is!" She found what she was looking for—her Pokedex—and pulled it out. Gold and Silver did the same. The man flicked his eyes over the devices before responding.

"I see. Well, perhaps it will work with seven. Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I am the tower's keymaster, Eli. Now, shall we go?" Eli moved aside to let the trainers board the ferry. While everyone boarded the small boat, Silver didn't move.

"What do you mean 'it will work with seven'? And what is 'it'?" The redhead stared defiantly at the old keymaster.

"Ah, the Sacrifice Key. I can't say much out here in the open, but I can gladly tell you anything you want to know on the ferry." While he still didn't look too happy, the Johto trainer joined to others on the ferry. Eli followed and pulled the gangway into the small boat.

"What's the Sacrifice Key? And what are these for?" Gold looked quizzically at the needles Eli had passed out to everyone.

"Only three people can take the tower's challenge per group. Normally the fourth stays behind to act a link between the worlds, but I'm not exactly sure if having more people will affect the link. The key—" He cut off abruptly upon seeing Gold pretending to stab Silver in the back of his head with the needle. Crystal punched him in the arm. The boy quickly muttered and apology and glared at her.

"As I was saying, the key chooses which three enter the tower." The man reached into his coat and pulled out what looked like a pentagon-shaped box on a silver chain. The box itself was black with lots of indents on the top. "This key is something beyond what you've ever imagined." Red's eyes widened.

"I…I think I've seen that before." Everyone stared at the champion in shock.

"Are you sure? This version of the key is the only one in this world." Eli shook his head. "You're probably mistaken. Ah, we are nearing the island. Quickly, use the needle to draw a little blood from your finger and push it into one of the slots." Yellow made a face as she did hers.

"Why blood? That's just…ugh." She shuddered and Chuchu rubbed against her leg reassuringly.

"It's not just the key to the tower. This key uses your memories to decide who to send in." Eli pushed he gangway onto the dock. Blue skipped out completely unfazed while the rest of her friends walked slowly off the ferry. Everyone made their way towards a small house not far from the dock.

"Soooo…when will we know who gets to in?" Blue stepped beside Eli.

"I won't know until the morning. You will either find out tonight or tomorrow afternoon." He continued walking and paused briefly to prop open the door. "Come in. This is where you'll be staying." The trainers followed him inside. After giving them the tour, Eli left to set some things for the next day. Everyone settle in their rooms before falling into the clutches of sleep.

**.o0O0o.**

The next morning, Gold was the first person to wake up. He got ready quickly and made his way outside. The cool spring breeze felt good on his face. Soon, Red came out next to him.

"What are you doing up so early? You don't seem like a morning person, Gold."

"I'm not. Just…an interesting dream."

"Same. Silver looked pretty restless when I got up, so he might've been going through the same thing."

"Oh really? Ooh! Did you know that he's—"

"FINISH THAT SENTENCE AND YOU'RE DEAD." A very angry Silver was making his way towards Gold. The black-haired boy smirked.

"—ticklish." Silver froze and Red's mouth fell open.

"Are you serious? Silver…you're ticklish?" The red head ignored the champion and was about to punch Gold in the mouth when Eli's voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'll need your strength to make it through the trials." The man walked toward the shocked trio with the Sacrifice Key in hand. Silver immediately dropped his arm.

"What trials?"

"I only had to go through the formalities. I always knew it was you three who would be picked. The blood pact was necessary for the key to assign you your survival abilities." Eli paused to let the information sink in.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Ah, my apologies. the trials are…more like fights to the death."

"Just how dangerous are these trials? What are they for anyway?" Gold's tone became serious as he spoke. Silver slowly walked away while pulling Red with him. A serious Gold is a scary Gold.

"The trials are not something you will survive. You die with or without your abilities. The tower isn't where the challenge is, either. When you partake in the trials, you will receive your ability one at a time. Afterwards, you are taken to the world that needs the most help." Gold was about to interrupt until Eli held up his hand. "You'll understand in due time. Perhaps someone in the other world will explain everything to you. To cross the boundaries of time and space, you must die in this world. Only then can you take the challenge."

"If we die here, how can we be alive in the other world?" Silver chose his words carefully.

"It's not really dying as much as the feeling of death. If you're pushed too far, you will be killed by your own ability and disappear. We must begin soon or the blood pact will expire. Follow me." The keymaster turned towards the tower and held the key in front of him. Gold sped up slightly to catch up.

"Where are we going?"

"The trial room. It's a tear in space where all of the worlds come together. When citizens of a particular world are faced with something that they cannot overcome themselves, the key recreates the threat of that world and presents it in the room." Holding up the key, Eli gasped I horror as the tear opened and revealed thousands of small black ghost-like creatures.

"What are these things?" Red questioned as one of the creatures flew in his face.

"Coal tar…This isn't good. I've faced this world before. Just know that once you're there, you have to seek out the King of time. Good luck!" With that, Eli pushed the trio into the tear.


	2. King of Time

Once again, Gold was the first to wake. He found himself in what looked like a hospital.

"Ah, you're awake. You friends should be up soon. Now then, care to explain why you were in the middle of the forest?" A man with purple hair spoke from across the room. He seemed to be wearing a clown suit, save for the top hat, cape, and umbrella.

"Forest? What…?" Gold slowly sat up as he became more aware of the situation.

"Don't you remember anything? We found the three of you unconscious on the ground. You were covered in various cuts and your redheaded friend had a gash in his side. Both of you healed rather quickly, almost too quickly for humans. Just what are you?" Another man was leaning against the wall. His outfit was far less gaudy than the first man's. It was a simple black trench coat with a brown belt.

"I'd…rather not think about it…" As he remembered what happened in the trials, Gold cringed and instantly tried to shake the images out of his head.

"You aren't going to help yourself this way. Just answer the questions!" The man in the trench coat was persistent.

"Look, I only remember some pretty gruesome things. Everything else is a jumbled blur. I think he said something about finding the King of Time…"

"Oh? Tsubaki, leave us. I must speak with the boy alone." The man in the clown suit dismissed the other, Tsubaki, with a slight grin on his face. Tsubaki left reluctantly, shutting the door behind him. Gold shifted uneasily as the man strode over to the bed. "So, Eli has chosen children this time? You must be quite talented."

"You know Eli?"

"_Know him?_ My dear boy, I trained him! I'm the one who gave him the Tower!"

"So…you're—"

"Yep! I'm the King of Time himself! Some know me by the name Samael, but here I am Mephisto. Please remember that."

"What sets this world apart?" Silver's voice drifted through the air, scaring Gold. The black haired boy turned to see both his rival and the champion staring at him from their beds.

"Oh ho ho, so blunt. Here, there are two dimensions—Assiah and Gehenna. Assiah, the world of humans, is where you are now. Gehenna, the world of demons, is somewhere you never want to be. Demons can come and go as they wish, but humans can only pass through a gate. Most people would die in the gate anyway. Oh, and only certain people can see demons. Here at True Cross, exorcists are trained to protect the people who know nothing about demons." Mephisto stopped abruptly, leaving the three trainers confused.

"Wait a minute…so—" Red was cut off by Mephisto's gesture.

"Really now, I've introduced myself and given you extensive information! Don't I get to have your names?" He seemed to be almost pouting.

"I'm Silver, that's Red, and the idiot over there is Gold." Silver pointed to the other two boys as he addressed them.

"That's better. Now Red, I believe your questions might be better answered if you saw things with your own eyes. Of course, I have to see what your abilities entail. Come along." Mephisto turned and strode out the door, pausing only to prompt the three trainers to follow him. "And before I forget, you can't talk to anyone but me about your world. I have a story that we can follow."

"And that story is…?" Gold asked cautiously.

"It's actually half of the truth, since it's confidential to everyone else." The clown stopped abruptly and looked around quickly. "Tsubaki! I know you're hiding. Come on out." Shortly after that outburst, Tsubaki cam around the corner.

"Damn, your senses are good.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough. What's this about 'their world'?"

"I believe I said that was confidential, didn't I?"

"All right, all right. I'll drop it. Anyways, the goblins are ready."

"Good." The two men headed down a stairwell with the trainers following behind.

"Where are we going?" Gold's curiosity got the best of him.

"If you are to train here, we need to see which meisters you fall under. This is not only a test for that, but also for us to see what your abilities are. I'm fairly certain that I explained that only minutes ago, yes?" It was clear that Mephisto's patience was wearing thin.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. The group eventually came to what looked like an observatory deck. Upon closer inspection, the window looked out over a small gym type area where three weird, green monsters were held to the wall by cuffs around their back legs. Tsubaki sat in one of the four chairs while Mephisto pulled Gold aside.

"Now, Gold, you'll be the first one taking on the goblins. All you have to do is activate your ability, and fight. Seems easy enough, right?"

"Yeah, except for the part where I don't know how to activate it."

"As soon as you're in there, you'll figure it out."

"Are you sure"

"Yes. The only trick to it is this—do you remember how it felt in the trials?" Gold nodded. "Then you know what to do to activate it. Just remember that feeling and you'll be fine."

"But—" Gold didn't get the chance to continue as he was pushed into the gym with the goblins. "Good luck Gold!" Mephisto shouted out before locking the door.

"Um, can you guys hear me?" Gold tentatively called out to his friends that were sitting behind the glass.

"Loud and clear, idiot. You don't have to yell." Silver's voice resonated over a speaker.

"Don't call me that!"

"Focus, Gold. The goblins will be released soon. Ready?" Now it was Red's voice.

"Yeah, yeah, bring it on!"

Almost as soon as he spoke, the goblins were released and started chasing after the boy. They were a lot faster than they seemed. Trying to escape the goblins was the only thought in Gold's mind—he forgot about activating and fighting back.

"Gold, activate your ability already! Goblins have a higher stamina level than humans. You can't run away forever!" He didn't care whose voice it was. He just followed the advice.

With his back to spectators, Gold tried activating. He knew it worked when he saw the familiar shape of a Cyndaquil by his feet. The only difference was that this particular Cyndaquil was all bloody. Soon, five different shaped Unown appeared in front of him. Together they spelled out "LEAVE". The goblins stopped advancing and started to back up. Gold closed his eyes as he turned around, trying to speak. He knew it wouldn't work—in this form he wasn't able to talk. His voice disappeared as though it was a sacrifice in trade for using the power.

"You know that won't work. Just show them your eyes." Silver sighed.

_Guess you're right Silv. Here goes nothing._ Gold's thoughts flitted away as he heard the collective gasps over the speaker. _Of course they'd be shocked. These eyes aren't normal._

Those eyes were pure black with blood red irises.


End file.
